EPA, DOE to Study Potential for Renewable Energy Possibilities on Milwaukee and St. Paul Rail Yard Company Brownfields Site in Perry, Iowa

(Kansas City, Kan., Nov. 4, 2011) - EPA and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory are collaborating on a project to evaluate the feasibility of siting renewable energy production on the Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail Yard Company Brownfields Site, owned by the City of Perry, Iowa. The study, valued up to $35,000, will explore the potential for solar or wind power generation on the site.

The vacant 138-acre site has been closed and underused since 1986. In 2004 the city acquired the land and secured an EPA Brownfields grant to assess and clean up the site. Cleanup work under the Iowa Land Recycling Program was completed in the summer of 2011, and the city continues to work diligently to eliminate contamination concerns associated with the site.

The City of Perry will use the feasibility study as a tool to help develop the type of facility best suited for its future energy needs. The best fit for the former rail yard is likely to solar or wind power technologies.

“Renewable energy is a vital part of America’s energy future. By using wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources, we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions from other sources of energy production,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks.

EPA’s RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative encourages renewable energy development on current and formerly contaminated land and mine sites when it is aligned with the community’s vision for the site. The collaboration pairs EPA’s expertise on contaminated sites with DOE’s expertise in renewable energy.

As part of the RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative, EPA is investing approximately $1 million for projects across the United States aiming to decrease the amount of green space used for development while continuing to ensure the protection of people’s health, the environment and provide economic benefits to local communities, including job creation. EPA Region 7, which is comprised of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and nine tribal nations, is one of only three regions to have four sites selected, with one in each state of the region.